Club History

Augusta Sailing Club House and Ground Rules Appendix A (Revised
20180109)

During 1952, a small group of
Augustans became interested in sailing on the newly constructed Clarks Hill
Reservoir. The Augusta Sailing Club was formerly incorporated as a non-profit
organization on July 24, 1953, with its stated purpose as follows:

"The object of the corporation
is to establish, maintain, and conduct a club for the purpose of promoting
sailing and boating; to provide a clubhouse, docks and other facilities for
sailing, boating, swimming, mooring, keeping, maintaining and repairing boats
of all kinds and character for the convenience of its members and their guests;
to hold and conduct regattas and races of boats of all kinds and classes and to
provide a place for the social entertainment and sport of its members and their
guests and to do generally any and all acts and things necessary, convenient,
expedient and ancillary to or in aid of the accomplishment of the
foregoing."

While seeking a permanent site for
locating the Club, the early members gathered at the Modoc Public launching area
on the Carolina shore. On June 15, 1955, the Club signed a twenty-year lease
with the government for the use of approximately ten acres of unimproved,
wooded land which includes what is now known as the clubhouse point and the
West Point. The rent was $250 per year.

Martha Harden recalled those early
days: "First the dock was constructed and the members and families cleared
the area. Boats were anchored out and captains and crews rode out in dinghies,
carrying sails and other necessities. There were two boat trailers in the
crowd. It was like moving day when a family arrived with sails, chairs, food,
water and barbecue grills every Saturday and Sunday. The 'clubhouse' was a
picnic table on the boat point. Occasionally some of the younger boys spent the
night sleeping out on the boats.”

"There was great rejoicing in
1956 when the real clubhouse was built and the fine well was dug and was
functioning. This was financed by selling bonds to members."

Even in the early days, the focal
point of the Club was on the racing program. The Minis trophy was established
in 1956 by a group of Savannah sportsmen and the Minis Sporting Goods Store as
a competition between the Savannah Yacht Club and the Augusta Sailing Club. In
1957, Clem Castleberry established an intra-club competition and later gave a
handsome silver punch bowl to the Club as a permanent trophy and annual keeper
trophies for the individual winners. This series of races later became known as
the Castleberry- Robertson Regatta because of the close association of Clem and
devoted Club member, Jim Robertson.

In October of 1959 the Club leased
the East Point area. The rent for the Club site increased to $355 per year increasing the land mass of the
ASC to approximately 15 acres. In 1960, the Club filed a plan of development
with the Corps of Engineers designating certain tracts of Club property for the
construction of privately owned cottages and other tracts as semi permanent
"tenting" areas. Although cottage sites were available to any member,
only seven cottages were built. The original cottage permit provided that the
cottages were exclusively for recreational use and could not be rented without
Board approval and could not be sold outside the Club membership. This has
subsequently been modified with the implementation of the uniform cottage site
leases.

On March 13, 1962, the water
between the clubhouse point land the East Point was named Harden's Cove in
recognition of the contribution of William D. Harden. To date, this has been
the only area of the Club formally designated, though through usage the dinghy
area is known as the West Point and the camper area known as the East Point. In
1968, the clubhouse was expanded (actually rebuilt) around the original
fireplace and included a large kitchen, showers, and all of the comforts of
home.

Since the Club's inception. Club
members have been active in competition at home and around the country and
beyond. In 1975, Boykin Wright won the Y-Flyer Nationals with David Annis as
crew. Bob Teabeaut carried the sailing Club burgee as far as the Royal Thames
Yacht Club in England. Over the years, members of the Augusta Sailing Club have
excelled in other fleets as well, including the Jolly, Lightning, Flying Tern,
Cougar Catamaran, Catalina 22, Capri-25, and Coronado-15. In 1975, the Club
negotiated a new twenty-year lease with the government. The annual rent
increased from $355 per year to $3,900. That same year, the Mid-Winter Cup was
founded in an effort to encourage competition between the cruising sailors at the
new Tradewinds Marina and those at the Augusta Sailing Club. The regatta is now
open to all cruising sailors on the lake.

The Club has always supported a
training program for young sailors and several of the Club's current members
were originally members of these junior programs. During the early 1980's, the
program received a boost as the Club began assembling a fleet of Sunfish for
use in the Junior Program as well as by the general membership.

In 1985, the Augusta Sailing Club
successfully negotiated the purchase of the present Club site and consummated
the transaction in December for a purchase price of $56,000. In 1990, the
Augusta Sailing Club was remodeled and the kitchen was enlarged and modernized.
The clubhouse restrooms and shower facilities were updated facilitating
handicap access. The exterior framing was stained and painted. A new septic
system was installed and the electrical system was brought up to current
building code standards

In 1993, in the wake of a major
revision to the Corps of Engineers' Lakeshore Management Plan, the Club
successfully negotiated permit authority to construct additional boat
slips. Over the next several years these
docks were built. The Dock Authority
began a major replacement cycle in 2010 with a plan to replace a dock every two
years.

The Club has over the years
established several awards distinguished from the competitive awards. These
awards are given at the annual meeting. The following are the major awards:

Gilbert
Lacy Klemann Award for Service: The Service Award is presented by the
Commodore to an ASC member or members who have unselfishly given themselves to
the betterment of the Club or made a significant contribution to the Club or
the sport of sailing. The award is not necessarily presented to a member each
year and in some years, there may be more than one winner. The name of the
recipient is displayed proudly on a permanent trophy in the Club's trophy case.
The award is presented at the Club's annual meeting. Past recipients include:

1989 Bennie
Moultrie 1996 Charles Burkelman

1990 Walton
Usher 1997 Ed Joy

1991 Max D.
Miller 1998 Gilbert Samuelson

1992 Graeme
Addie 1999 Don Putnam &
Family

1995 Dick Mayne
2000 Ed Durant

2002 “Red” Elinefield 2009 William (Bill) Collins 2010

2003 Jim Paschal 2010 Dale Demyan

2005 Jim Holder
2011 Robert E. Harkrider

2006 Richard Mayne 2013
Daniel West

2007 Jeff Annis 2017 Tim Buss

Hardin
Award for Sportsmanship: The Sportsmanship Award is presented by the
Commodore to an ASC member or members who have through their actions
demonstrated the values of sportsmanship and the Corinthian spirit in an
exemplary way. The award is not necessarily presented to a member each year and
in some years, there may be more than one winner. The name of the recipient
would be displayed proudly on a permanent trophy in the Club's trophy case, but
this trophy has been lost (if you know where this trophy is please let someone
on the Board know). The award is presented at the Club's annual meeting. Past
recipients include:

1989 2003 - Richard
Mayne

1991 2004

1992 2005

1993 2006

1994 2007

1995 2008

1996 2009

1997 2010

1998 2011

1999 2012

2000 2013 - Dale
Demyan

2001 2017

2002

ASC Cruiser of the Year Award. (Sponsored by Ed Durant and Justin
Annis.) The Cruiser of the Year Award recognizes the ASC member or member
couple who embraces or, by example, personifies non-competitive sailing
(cruising). The member or member couple will have participated in local or
blue-water cruising, entertained in a cruising environment, embarked on a
cruising lifestyle, provided coaching during cruising, derived joy from
cruising and/or imparted enthusiasm for cruising. Special consideration is
given for organizing, enrolling and/or participation in the club events that
promote cruising. Additional consideration is given to participation in the
cruiser racing fleet, acknowledging the value of racing as a means to improve
sailing skills and decision making under sail. The award is presented at the
Club's annual meeting. Award is based on membership vote administrated by the
Commodore and is not necessarily awarded every year. The award is presented at
the Annual Dinner and the winner’s name(s) are memorialized on a plaque on
permanent display in the clubhouse. Past recipients include:

2010 Tony &
Brenda Coy 2016 Harry
Garcia

2011 Greg &
Rhonda Hatcher 2017 Bob &
Sharon Harkrider

2012 Bob &
Becky Hopkins

2013 Tony &
Brenda Coy

2014 Bob & Becky Hopkins

2015 Bob &
Margaret Centers

The “Pottie”
Award: The Pottie Award is presented by the Commodore to an ASC member or
members who have intentionally or by accident produced a result that in
retrospect might not be considered well-reasoned. Special consideration to
social indiscretions are also made along with plane bad luck. The award is not
necessarily presented to a member each year and in some years, there may be
more than one winner. The name of the recipient is displayed proudly on a
permanent trophy in the Club's trophy case. The award is presented at the
Club's annual meeting. Past recipients include: